"What?"
Buggy's eyes bulged in disbelief. This guy could actually control wood?
No wonder he dared to cause trouble in Buggy's territory. So he was a Devil Fruit user too, and not an easy one to deal with.
Still, Buggy wasn't worried. Getting restrained by a few branches was nothing to him.
"I'm the Chop-Chop Man!"
With a sneer, Buggy split his head, hands, feet, and torso into multiple pieces. Each part floated freely through the air, slipping out of the wooden restraints with ease.
Swish, swish, swish!
His separated limbs shot toward Ryūjin. Daggers flashed in his hands while his feet struck from different angles, attacking from all directions.
Crack, crack, crack!
Branches erupted from the ground again. The moment Buggy's pieces spread out, they were instantly caught and bound once more.
"Buggy-sama, can you keep splitting?" Ryūjin asked with a faint smile, clearly amused.
"Are you mocking me?" Buggy's head snapped back, his voice muffled by the branches wrapped around him.
He tried again. His body split further, smaller fragments breaking apart in an attempt to escape.
It didn't matter.
Before those pieces could even move, they were restrained again. This time, completely.
Buggy froze.
His current mastery of the Chop-Chop Fruit simply wasn't enough to keep dividing endlessly.
[Ding! Host has defeated a Devil Fruit user
Ability Reward: One Chop-Chop Fruit!]
The system's voice echoed in Ryūjin's mind, confirming it.
"Captain Buggy, can I borrow your navigation chart now?" Ryūjin walked closer, crouching slightly as he looked at Buggy's head.
"Never!" Buggy shouted. "Even if you beat me, you're not getting it!"
"In that case, I'll throw you into the sea."
Ryūjin picked up Buggy's head and vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared over the ocean using the Body Flicker Technique, standing on the water's surface.
He lifted Buggy slightly and smiled. "If my hand slips, what do you think happens?"
Buggy's face went pale. Sweat poured down.
"Wait, wait! Don't drop me! I'll give it to you!"
"That's better."
Ryūjin returned to Buggy's base just as quickly.
Clap!
He released the wooden restraints, allowing Buggy's body parts to reassemble.
Five minutes later, Buggy reluctantly handed over the navigation chart.
Ryūjin activated his Sharingan. His eyes scanned the map once, capturing every detail instantly.
"Alright, Buggy-sama, I'm done. Here."
He handed it back.
Buggy: "…"
Nami: "…"
The Buggy Pirates: "…"
Everyone stared in confusion.
After all that effort, he just… looked at it?
And returned it?
What kind of person does that?
"Alright, Nami, let's go."
Ryūjin turned and walked away. Nami followed, still trying to process what just happened.
Behind them, Buggy frowned deeply.
Even with his experience as a former apprentice on Gol D. Roger's ship, he had never encountered someone this strange.
---
On the empty streets of Orange Town, Nami finally spoke.
"Ryūjin-san, why did you give the navigation chart back?"
"I told you already," Ryūjin said casually. "I'm not a pirate. I don't steal."
He raised a finger.
"And I've already memorized it."
"But I need a map if I'm your navigator!" Nami protested, slightly flustered.
"Relax."
Ryūjin activated Wood Release.
Fine wooden fibers extended from his fingertip, forming a thin sheet like paper. Then, using precise control, he layered more fibers to recreate every line and marking from memory.
In seconds, an identical map appeared.
"This… this is Buggy's chart!" Nami's eyes widened.
Memorizing an entire map at a glance was already absurd. Recreating it perfectly was on another level.
"Next, we find a dye shop, remove the pirate mark on the sail, then leave," Ryūjin said.
Nami hesitated, then looked at him seriously.
"Ryūjin-san, I don't want your money anymore. Can you help me with something?"
"What is it?"
"My village… it's under the control of a pirate crew. Please help me drive them away."
Ryūjin already knew the answer.
The Arlong Pirates.
"Alright," he said without hesitation.
Nami's face lit up instantly.
"Really? Thank you!"
"First we go to your village, deal with them, then head for the Grand Line."
---
After preparing supplies and fixing the sail, they left Orange Town.
Their destination, Cocoyasi Village.
Life on the ship quickly became exhausting for Nami.
With only two people aboard, she handled navigation, steering, cooking, and everything else. Ryūjin, on the other hand, contributed nothing to sailing.
Still, she didn't complain.
He was her only hope.
The journey was long and uneventful. Even with Nami around, Ryūjin found it dull.
A few days later, Nami suddenly pointed ahead.
"Ryūjin-san, there's a ship!"
He had already noticed it.
The vessel looked battered, barely holding together.
"Oh no… it's the Krieg Pirates!"
Ryūjin raised an eyebrow.
So it lined up.
He glanced at Nami. "Is there a sea restaurant called Baratie nearby?"
Nami checked the map.
"Yes, about twenty kilometers away."
"Good."
Everything matched the timeline.
The Krieg Pirates had entered the Grand Line, only to be crushed and chased back by Dracule Mihawk. Now they were barely surviving.
Ryūjin wasn't interested in Krieg.
But Mihawk was different.
A master of Haki.
In the East Blue, opportunities to encounter Haki users were rare. Missing this would be a waste.
"Nami, I need to go to Baratie," Ryūjin said. "I'll leave a clone with you. Take it to your village, deal with Arlong, and wait for me."
Nami hesitated.
"Can't we go later?"
She clearly didn't trust a clone as much as the original.
"No need," Ryūjin replied. "A clone is more than enough for someone like Arlong."
Clap!
A wooden clone separated from his body.
At the same time, the Krieg Pirates spotted them.
"Captain, a ship ahead!"
"Intercept it!" Krieg barked, eyes filled with desperation.
Their ship was on the verge of collapse. This was their only chance.
Ryūjin didn't care.
Clap!
Wood surged from the sea, forming a small boat instantly.
Nami stared in shock.
Creating ships out of nothing… this ability was absurd.
"I'm heading out," Ryūjin said. "The clone will handle everything."
He jumped onto the boat.
Using Water Release, he created several sharks that pulled it forward at high speed, cutting across the ocean and leaving a long trail behind.
===
If you want to read more, check out my patreon.
Patreon.com/ _Zeph